“It’s about time to get winter clothes.”
I said while looking out at the darkened window.
Well, to be precise, it wasn’t completely dark. Seoul’s nights are bright. Even though restaurants and most shops are closed, 24-hour fast-food joints and convenience stores still keep their doors open. There were quite a few cars even at this hour, and night buses were running.
The Imperial Capital’s nights aren’t that dark either, but it’s not comparable to this city that never sleeps.
It’s been about two months since I returned to this world. The now chilly weather has reached a point where saying “it’s cold” would be okay.
That doesn’t mean we’re already in winter, but if I don’t start preparing winter clothes soon, there’ll be nothing to wear when it really gets cold.
Finally, it’s Monday. Our day off.
“And while we’re out, let’s also check out the driving school. We have free time in the mornings, so getting a license shouldn’t be too hard.”
Everyone, except for Mia, who looks like she has no intention of getting a license, generally has good motor skills. I don’t think there will be any major issues with driving.
“Ah!”
The moment the word “driver’s license” was mentioned, someone’s eyes lit up.
There was no need to think hard about it, it was Claire. She loves this sort of thing. Last time at the amusement park, she was having the time of her life with the bumper cars.
I knew Claire would be this excited, but—
“Sister, I want a license!”
I couldn’t have predicted that at all.
“A license you want…? Are you talking about getting a driver’s license?”
You want a license, so why bring up driver’s licenses now?
Oh, does she want to get a manual license? I could see Claire enjoying that kind of control. Apparently, there are people who specifically buy manual cars because they love them.
My first license was a regular car license, but honestly, I question whether there’s a need to get such a license in these modern times. Even if manual cars are cheaper, do they even come with that option for regular driving?
“Yes! This one!”
And on Claire’s smartphone—
“No.”
“Huh?”
—was a picture of a motorcycle.
Not just any scooter, but a fancy motorcycle that likely costs as much as a car.
I could just imagine that if you even slightly twisted the throttle, the speed would shoot up instantly and hitting something would send you flying like a boulder thrown by a siege engine.
“…No?”
Claire’s spirits plummeted immediately.
Have I ever told Claire so firmly that she couldn’t do something?
I don’t think I have.
Actually, um… maybe I’m being too rigid in my thinking. I usually don’t care much about what others ride, and as long as it’s not excessively modified with an annoying noise, I don’t mind what people do.
But… how should I put it? If it’s my little sister, I want to stop her.
“It’s dangerous. Even with our skills, we would still get hurt badly if we had an accident.”
Or dead.
“I’ll ride safely!”
Claire desperately tried to persuade me, but I shook my head again.
“It’s not just about you riding safely.”
Even if she follows all the safety rules, that doesn’t mean everyone else on the road does.
If a car that doesn’t follow traffic rules runs into a motorcycle, the person in the car may be fine, but the motorcycle rider could end up dead.
Hmm… or is it just a preconceived notion? I’ve heard that advances in gear have reduced fatality rates lately.
“Sigh…”
“It does look quite dangerous.”
While I was lost in thought, Alice, who had been looking at the picture, spoke up.
“If Sylvia is saying something like that, it would be wise not to ride it. Has she ever been that firm about something since coming here?”
Yeah.
If I go that far, I start to question whether I’m being too strict.
All the statistics I’ve seen are old data… and saying this kind of thing might be rude to those who actually ride…
“…Instead, let’s choose a car that Claire wants. One of the two should at least fit all of us, and how about Claire chooses the other?”
“…Aren’t you being too soft-hearted? Just a moment ago you were so firm about it.”
But it feels unfair.
Am I really that soft-hearted?
But I don’t want to cut her off too abruptly and end up creating a rift. After all, I proposed an alternative. Money isn’t an issue, and getting a slightly more expensive car shouldn’t be a big deal.
Plus, I trust Claire.
I don’t think she would buy something excessively expensive or high-maintenance.
“Really? Is that okay?”
Seeing Claire regain her spirit quickly seemed to confirm that this was the right decision.
Is it just my imagination, or are her tied-up hair also bouncing upwards with excitement?
Turning my gaze to the other three, Charlotte and Alice were nodding with wry smiles.
And Mia was just nodding without even a bitter smile. She doesn’t seem to have any intention of driving anyway.
I guess it’s a relief that they’re all reasonable kids.
I let out a subtle sigh of relief.
*
First, we bought winter clothes. We each bought two thick outer garments and selected a few layers to wear underneath, but… it was a bit tricky to carry them around because of their bulk.
So, I returned home to hang the clothes and then went out again, this time to get passport photos taken at a nearby photo studio.
…And only then did I take a close look at the photo on my ID.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s just that we never took a photo separately, so I was wondering how there was one on the ID.”
“…You’re only noticing this now?”
Right?
Why did I only look now?
The being in the photo was, in every sense, me. It wasn’t even black and white; it was a proper passport photo.
After staring at the photo for a while, I vowed not to think deeply about it and stuffed my wallet back into my pocket.
After all, thinking about it further is pointless. The Goddess must have made it for me, because of some order or whatnot.
Then, we registered at the driving school. Since it’s not the holiday season for universities or high schools, it didn’t seem too crowded. Or maybe it was just our luck.
According to the orientation, the necessary training time for the driving test wasn’t that long. I remember it being like that when I got my license too.
I guess I did fail a few times on the driving test.
…But since I’ve had the experience before, I shouldn’t have any major issues this time.
Sure, it was over ten years ago, but still.
If worst comes to worst, I’ll just ride in the car that my sister drives.
…She seems to like driving.
*
And then, a week later—
“Hey, sis, don’t worry too much. Driving isn’t that hard!”
“It’s not that it’s hard, but you dropped out alone.”
Alice was about to tease me and ended up quieting Claire instead.
“You can just try again, so there’s no need to worry too much. If it really doesn’t work out, you don’t have to get a license.”
Charlotte’s comforting words were just stabbing my heart.
“I… I’m okay with not getting a license!”
“…”
Well, I…
Dreamed of getting an awesome car and driving my friends around.
Having come this far, I wanted to be seen as a cool and successful person from the world I’m from.
Now that I think about it, I didn’t even get my driver’s license in one try last time. Back then, they almost abolished in-garage driving tests. No, perhaps that’s why I ended up failing this time?
Now that I think about it, I did manage to drive decently.
Besides, it wasn’t a manual car, so I wouldn’t stall the engine. The reason I failed this time was purely because I failed to memorize the routes.
“I’ll try again next time.”
I nodded.
“I got confused about the roads this time, but it should be fine next time.”
“Didn’t they guide you with voice navigation?”
“…”
“Why are you saying that to sis!”
Alice interjected, but received a light jab from Claire.
Alice seemed to be enjoying this quite a bit. After all, she almost never won against me in our childhood. I think she might have even felt that I deliberately let her win sometimes.
“…Once I get my license, I’ll challenge you to a circuit race.”
“That sounds fun. Of course, I’ll win, though.”
“…Don’t forget that there’s no need to memorize the routes on the circuit.”
“Hey sis, didn’t you say it was dangerous to go too fast with me…?”
Hearing Claire’s words shift in such a way made me finally stop my argument with Alice.
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